The Ambient Century - Mark Prendergast

As well as having a snazzy new cover and subtitle, The Ambient
Century has had a radical overhaul since the first edition appeared
in 2000/2001. First off it ends with a look at Moby, the world's best-selling
Ambient Techno artist and a fine composer to boot. There's a certain
ellipsis in ending with Moby as he talks about Satie, one of the influential
(classical) artists who began the book in the first place. Secondly
there was a set of parameters I put the first edition through before
I said the printers could go. And these divided down into four sets
of distinct patterns.

The first was a hard look at any proof reading or editing errors
which occurred at the final stages of the 2000 edition. This time
I had the advice of a keen musicologist who debated with me interpretations
and whatnot of musical forms. The second was any necessary death
changes, which in the case of Can's Michael Karoli or Popol Vuh's
Florian Fricke were mandatory. The third was an essential album
revision ie those new albums in the interim too crucial or important
to ignore. The fourth was a veritable update of certain sections
in the light of new developments for example the history of Compact
Disc has been revolutionised by the superior fidelities offered
by Super Audio Compact Disc and the, as yet to come, Blu-ray Disc.
As well as a new Index there is also a new Afterword which
aims to clarify the gestation and reason behind Ambient Century
with unexpected references to Sigur Ros and Radiohead.

To quote in part "The Ambient Century is a journey
through the evolution of sound in the twentieth century. It is a
journey borne out of personal experience and curiosity. It is not
supposed to be a definitive textbook aiming to include everyone
and anyone who has ever worked on sonic innovation. The book is
not designed solely as a reference work, though many say it can
be used in that way. Each section is written in a chronological
manner and by reading the short essays at the beginning of each
section and then reading the sections slowly you should get a genuine
feel of the drift of change through time".

Finally I'd like to say two new things. Anyone out there who
can identify what's on the new cover deserves a tilted hat. And
thank you Holly Roberts, at Bloomsbury, for your shrewd editing
and proof reading skills during preparation of the new version in
early 2003.

Mark Prendergast

IF YOU THINK...
The
Ambient Century is all about white men and technology
then think again. Many women are featured including Madonna,
Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros, Nico, Sandy Denny, Grace Slick,
Laurie Anderson, Donna Summer, Anne Dudley, Liz Fraser and
Enya - the latter two pictured below. Also many black men
from Miles Davis to Goldie including the peerless Jimi Hendrix,
pictured.

BOOK TWO : MINIMALISM, ENO AND THE NEW SIMPLICITY "In the end Steve Reich aligned Minimalist music with meditation,
its ritualistic sense shifting music away from the subjective
attention of the listener to an objective appreciation of
its very existence."

BOOK
THREE : AMBIENCE IN THE ROCK ERA
"Rock
opened listeners' minds to new perceptions in sound - through
its necessary innovation it served as a perfect vehicle for
new Ambient and electronic ideas."

BOOK
FOUR : HOUSE, TECHNO AND 21st CENTURY AMBIENCE "Trance was a music tailor-made for club nirvana as millions
the world over danced to slithery mixes full of synthesizer
riffs, drum-machine rolls, long suspenseful build-ups and
even lengthier breakdowns."

PRESS
REVIEWS
From London's Times to the Boston Globe, critics have been
praising The Ambient Century. Here you can read a selection
of their comments.

TOP
TENS
Mark Prendergast's Top Ten Ambient CDs and Books. You can
purchase them from this site.